Being Julia (2004)

Being Julia

Matinee

Who says there aren't good roles for women any more? Annette Bening (the titular Julia) runs the emotional gamut from spoiled diva, intoxicated lover, venegeful witch, loving mom, humbled reject, glorious star, and everything in-between, and you really feel it, you really believe everything she feels. It's a dish of a role for a dish of a gal, seemingly tailored for Bening. Her supporting characters surround her much as Julia would have them surround her - strong, interesting, but still only supporting characters. And when you can make a cast like this pale before you (I mean seriously, Jeremy Irons, Myriam Margolyes, Juliet Stevenson and sparkly (relatively) new kids on the block Shawn Evans and Lucy Punch), you know you've got you some mojo going on.

I am not saying that any of these folks dialed in their performances, heavens no. Even in their brief moments, they are memorable and funny and interesting and real. Juliet Stevenson in particular seems to get few opportunities to be earthy and kind, and it's great to see another side of her here. Jeremy Irons could have had more scenes, if anything, but his thunder is completely stolen by Evans and Punch. Lucy Punch has the enviable (or unenviable) task of trying to out-crazy-actress Bening, and it's clear that both the actresses and the actresses they are portraying are a fine match for each other. The only creature who can surmount Julia's glitter is her late acting teacher, played as a very present memory or ghost by Michael Gambon. He provides us with the necessary internal world of Julia as well as justifying (sort of) her choices. It's fascinating and fun.

Adapted by The Pianist's screenwriter Ronald Harwood from M. Somerset Maugham's novella "Theatre," Being Julia as a film feels like a play, in a good way. A tight-knit ensemble of characters, all with something good and interesting to do, a gloriously theatrical ending which rivals the final crashes of Act III of Noises Off, and of course, the theatre world's rarified setting. At the 80 minute (out of 105) mark I started to wonder where this story was going, as lots had happened but not much seemed to have a central point. However, by the time the curtain went down it was abundantly clear, and worth the wait.

Few films addressing the subject of, well, shall we say, an older woman getting her groove back, have really gone into the heroin-like effects that a younger man can have on an older woman. I am giving little away by hinting that such a thing takes place - and her delight in it is complex and interesting. It's not just sexual, not just maternal, not just vanity - and the longer term results are as inevitable as they seem impossible at the time. It's a real treat, Being Julia, and a great diversion.

-- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ These reviews (c) 2004 Karina Montgomery. Please feel free to forward but credit the reviewer in the text. Thanks. You can check out previous reviews at: http://www.cinerina.com and http://ofcs.rottentomatoes.com - the Online Film Critics Society http://www.hsbr.net/reviews/karina/listing.hsbr - Hollywood Stock Exchange Brokerage Resource

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X-RT-RatingText: 4/5